Don't Throw Food Away Challenge 2012

Linz4383

used some old mushrooms and onion in my tikka yday althought i have just remembered that ive got a few baby new potatoes in the cupboard! wondering whether theyll b ok or not :S hopefully theyll b ok peeled and cooked! bit annoyed with my carrots.. bought them from sainsburys and they havent lasted long at all! will stick to tesco next time i think as they last ages also found these sainsburys ones are horrible inside when they are cut!!!

ScarletRaven

Well, I did an appaling job of sticking to this through January, and haven't bothered at all this month as I've had a lot going on and got kinda lazy on the food front However, that stressful 'lot going on' ended up with me losing my job last week, so I really have no choice but to save money wherever I can now!

Going to make a fresh start from the 1st of March; in the mean time I want to find anything that's already past it's best and get it thrown out or used up if possible and check what essentials I have in the cupboards and freezers to build meals up from. Once that's all sorted I'll work out a figure to stick to for wastage in March and hpefully won't end up throwing much out at all! Any tips for this preparation stage will be much appreciated

Looking forward to this challenge because this time I'll be sticking it out and hopefully making a change for the long run!

squeaky

ScarletRaven wrote: »

Well, I did an appaling job of sticking to this through January, and haven't bothered at all this month as I've had a lot going on and got kinda lazy on the food front However, that stressful 'lot going on' ended up with me losing my job last week, so I really have no choice but to save money wherever I can now!

Going to make a fresh start from the 1st of March; in the mean time I want to find anything that's already past it's best and get it thrown out or used up if possible and check what essentials I have in the cupboards and freezers to build meals up from. Once that's all sorted I'll work out a figure to stick to for wastage in March and hpefully won't end up throwing much out at all! Any tips for this preparation stage will be much appreciated

Looking forward to this challenge because this time I'll be sticking it out and hopefully making a change for the long run!

It'll be well worth having a look at our regular Grocery Challenge sticky, especially all the links in the first post. Honest

Also - even if you aren't in debt: visit our Debt-Free Wannabe board an do a Statement Of Affairs (SOA). They'll help you trim your overall budget and ease the pain of the loss of income.

Firemunchkin

Grrr - had to chuck 2 carrots today, they'd gone completely black, managed to rescue the rest by using 2 in a stew and freezing the rest. Also learned a good way to revive and then freeze limp celery (revive it by sticking it in iced water!).

However, I also have 4 soft parsnips, does anybody know if I can still make parsnip chips with them?!!

debbiedeejay

Sorry to hear about the job loss ScarletRaven:( but Squeaky has given some excellent advice and you sound like you are being totally sensible and sorting out stuff now rather than later.
I,too, had a drop of income 6 months ago and yes after sorting out the "big stuff" first , places like this forum really help to keep my eyes on the pennies too - I actually feel in control of my money for the first time in years even though less is coming in,in the first place.

Unfortunately this week my saving of food will probably go out the window. I came down with a norovirus type of bug at weekend - only today got of bed - thought of food? Nooo Way!:(

Dread to think what is lurking in fridge - was worried about the kids surviving (eating that is) until a colleague phoned me to see if I was ok and she said "not to worry as kids are scavengers so will be ok":rotfl:

Will report back when feeling better and have faced the "fridge":eek:

VfM4meplse

Big loss for me yesterday...opened a sealed packet of handmade Bombay Mix from a specialist shop bought for me as a gift. Had been saving it to share (couldn't scoff it on my own ) but found it to be disgustingly rancid.

Hardly surprising, as the BBE date was Oct 11 :eek:. £3.50 gifted to me gone.

Adela31

squeaky wrote: »

and the lower the temperature the more risk of freezer burn.

Ahh this could be the problem. The new freezer is, to put no finer point on it .. carp. I have it up full blast because at my "regular" settings on the old ones the kids ice poles were melting!

So maybe keeping it up full will help.

(and thank you for thelinky!)

wannabee_in_credit

I've lost my mojo. Help!
I've just thrown away a half pack of mushrooms and some leftover pork and mash from last Thursday. I got really distracted with other stuff and need to get back on board with this.
My fridge is making the most terrible noise - it was only fixed back in October. Unfortunately I can't get an appointment until a week on Saturday with the same guy so I'm crossing fingers it doesn't give up before then.

kittendothroar

Firemunchkin wrote: »

Grrr - had to chuck 2 carrots today, they'd gone completely black, managed to rescue the rest by using 2 in a stew and freezing the rest. Also learned a good way to revive and then freeze limp celery (revive it by sticking it in iced water!).

However, I also have 4 soft parsnips, does anybody know if I can still make parsnip chips with them?!!

Not sure about chips but found on bbc website parsnip soup with parsnip bhajis which sounds nice and would probably make good use of them!

kittendothroar

Oh and hello everyone! I've been a bit of a lurker but wanted to join the party :-D

I hate to throw anything, and get really upset if I do! Not that I plan to but setting myself a challenge of £5 a month maximum and quite confident won't be anywhere near...!